


Burnt

by Augustus



Category: Sweet Valley High - Francine Pascal
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-23
Updated: 2006-03-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 08:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8095075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Augustus/pseuds/Augustus
Summary: Jessica reacts to the final straw.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This piece draws heavily on a scene in the final chapter of "Playing With Fire". The one line of dialogue here is quoted directly from this scene, and was originally written by "Kate William".

Jessica has never looked more beautiful. Bruce can't help but stare as she glowers at him from across the table, her aquamarine eyes flashing with anger and betrayal. Her lips are moving, but he barely registers the sound of her voice. _This_ is the Jessica Wakefield who caught his eye, the girl who could hold his attention from across the room, simply with a glance or a flirtatious smile. _This_ is the girl he had found himself bewitched by, the furious beauty standing in front of him, not the cowed and subservient girl he'd grown tired of so quickly.

Beside him, Aline is shifting nervously in her seat, but she's already faded into the background as far as Bruce is concerned. He's tongue-tied as he makes his excuses. Not usually one to be at a loss for words, he suddenly finds himself stammering as he does his best to hold Jessica's gaze. She's magnificent, she's impeccable, and Bruce is too caught up in the splendour of her fury to notice the pizza flying towards his face in time to duck.

The icy soda that follows actually comes as a welcome relief after the mess of cheese and tomato that had burnt Bruce's nose and cheeks. "Hey, calm down, baby!" he splutters through the residue of pizza that clings to his lips, reaching for Jessica's hand more out of familiarity than any real hope of stemming the tide of her revenge. Instead, she snatches her arm out of his reach, taking hold of a second pitcher of soda rather than his proffered hand.

Aline completely forgotten, Bruce's foot catches on the leg of his chair in his hurry to escape a second drenching, the contact throwing him off balance. His flight is further hindered by his inability to drag his gaze away from Jessica's face. His attention on her, rather than his own direction, Bruce stumbles into the waterfall at the rear of Guido's, transfixed by the smirk that's swelling on her face.

The shock of pounding water upon his back and the stench of chlorine in his nostrils slowly drag Bruce from his stupor as he becomes aware of the combined stare of everyone in the restaurant. His first reaction is anger. Fuelled by such a public humiliation, it builds within his chest, his fingers beginning to ache from the unexpressed accusations that collect inside his mind. Bruce's mouth opens to retaliate, the famous Patman pride and arrogance burning in his veins, but Jessica merely glances at his bedraggled appearance and begins to laugh.

The rest of the staring crowd soon joins in the laughter, but Jessica's delighted giggles are the only sound that reaches Bruce's ears. He wants her more in that moment than ever before, his dripping arms twitching with the repressed urge to embrace her. The knowledge that Jessica is beyond his grasp for the first time he can remember both maddens and excites him. Before, Bruce had been intrigued; now he finds himself close to smitten. Never before has he been so publicly humiliated; never before has he faced a challenge so worth his while.

As Jessica laughs, Bruce watches her. For now, they're over, but Bruce has every confidence that the future will bring new battles and new opportunities for romance and revenge.


End file.
